Overview

I was born in Mordialloc , Victoria , Australia , in 1974 to a family of three girls.

From a young age I knew I was going to be an artist, and all my life energy has been directed towards the realisation of this dream.

I mostly grew up in the suburb of Frankston, and attended Mount Eliza Secondary College in 1997.

As a young girl my art served as an escape in to fantasies of colour, line, shape and form, often inspired by comic art. However in high school I experienced a range of traumatic circumstances linked to the breakdown of my family which resulted in a different sort of self expression in my art.

My parents divorced when I was twelve, and as a result I was introduced to the notion of step families. Unable to cope with what I was being exposed to, I began to use my art to find answers and solace. I had not been brought up with any religion, so art became my faith in life and in my future.

After moving to Darwin in 1993 to escape my family situation, I majored in painting at the local university. I'd had the option of staying at home to further my competitive surfing, but decided I simply had to get away to stay sane.

After many years of schooling, I drank and partied the year away in Darwin . The following year I decided to defer the course and became a Jillaroo on a buffalo station about an hour and a half out of town.

After being fired from this job, I moved to Wangaratta to be with my mother.

I worked at IBM building computers and worked part time behind the bar. On my 21 st birthday, I was engaged to a truck driver who took me around Australia . Twelve months later I broke the relationship up and in 1996 returned to my art studies.

At this point I felt I had lost my sense of self and realised it may very well have something to do with the fact that I wasn't making any art.

Moving back with my mother and sisters to Frankston, I completed a Diploma in Visual arts at Chisholm Institute.

In the final year of these studies, I also learnt I had Endometriosis, and suffered badly from migraines which extended my studies at the Tafe. On completion of the course, I held my first solo show (after numerous group exhibitions) in Mt Eliza at the now extinct Tmesis Gallery. From the results of this show, I was accepted in 1999 to second year at VCA in a sculpture major.

In this period I also moved to Mornington and worked part time as a landscape gardener and storeman.

Again I was forced to extend my studies at VCA from complications with my illness, and I graduated a year late. In this final year I also met my current partner Duane and his son Josh.

At the time I was living alone, and he moved in with me.

After much deliberation in 2002, I decided not to accept my place at Melbourne University to complete my Dip Ed.

At this time I was not sure I wanted to be a teacher, but still thought I'd better get a 'real' job.

In 2002 I began a motor mechanics apprenticeship to which I am still in the process of completing today.

In this year my partner also struggled with alcoholism, and we lost all we had, but by 2003 he was an AA member and we were back on track.

At this time I also became bored with my apprenticeships lack of challenge, and I enrolled at Monash University in 2004 to complete my Dip Ed.

After I finished my degree, I fell pregnant, and took a break from my apprenticeship to work for six months in a teaching position at Mount Erin Secondary College and Monterey High school with a program called Hands On Learning.

This program was art and trade based and aimed at kids who were considered at risk.

Currently I am mostly at home but I am also working part-time selling auto parts, completing another degree online (psychology) and caring for my daughter.

I have recently begun painting again after almost a years break from my last show in 2005.

Since resuming my art studies in 1996, my work has become a mixture of both violent and meditative responses to my environment.

In almost all of my pieces, I struggle with issues of gender and attempt to define my own sense of identity.

I am extremely interested in human behaviour, which I examine and use intuitively as a resource for my ideas. This tool is also used to give clarity and meaning to my work and ensure its messages are open to a range of interpretations and audiences.

Over the years I have been influenced by numerous artists including; Bourgeois, Duchamp and Goldsworthy, but always give most of the credit to those family members, teachers and others who have

supported my sanity instead.

Currently my preferred medium is sculpture; however I do tend to move in to whichever medium best suits my ideas. Unfortunately with my work load I have been unable to focus on my art making these last two years, however I have planned a group show for 2005 to be the starting point for my next series of works.

I sincerely apologise to my family for this very brief biography as it does not mention nearly enough names or important events, but sincerely hope you and all my other guests enjoy my website. I look forward to hearing your comments.

Cindy Jackson 2006